Another relative . . .

May 23, 2011

Dear fam,

Have I told you about Sister Whetten?  I think that’s how it’s spelled but I am not totally sure. She is in the district right now so I guess I should know.  Anyway we are related to her. (have I told you this already?) We are related by marriage and I think its some how by Uncle Kayle and Aunt Annette.  It was when we were bowling and she said “whoa you remind me of one of my uncles”.  After awhile we made the connection to Uncle Kayle and we talked about Sister Haws for a little bit.  That was really an interesting time.  There are a lot of relatives up here, its ridiculous.

It’s amazing the influence one person has on another person or a group of people. We have two people here, one over the young men and one that’s over the young women. They aren’t married, one is Br. Littlefield and the other Sister Mecum.  They both have changed this ward so much.  Br. Littlefield has changed the young men’s a lot.  We have been trying to help him as much as we can.  Some of the young men that wanted nothing to do with serving a mission are now thinking about it.  All it takes is a seed and then for the seed to be nourished.  We can’t really help the young women out too much, but they have sure changed alot too.  Sister Mecum will be leaving... its making the bishop and a few others nervous.  When the foundation is upon one person it will crack and break sooner or later.  When it’s on more, than it will be strong. I defiantly have a testimony of that.

We didn’t have any investigators to church. Dylan was at his dads.  Rays kids didn’t come either because Ray didn’t.  He doesn’t want to leave his "woman" alone.  I hope after she gives birth that they will really start to come.  He talks about it so much, but has only showed it once.  

The lady we are helping move is Mary Helen Booderham, and we haven’t moved her yet.  This week.  

 Thank you for kicking my butt and getting me to do my eagle and to know how to organize projects, its defiantly coming in handy.  Thank you for that. 

Where do we contact? ummm wherever we are directed and feel good about.  Last night we biked around and we got a future investigator, first one for like a week. ooo that was a blessing! 

Another roller coaster of a week. it seems like those are the best kind of weeks because there’s a miracle that always happens! 

On Tuesday we had a zone conference.  Presidents last one and it was amazing!  He taught us about the holy ghost and how we need to "learn the language"  . . . reading some thing and putting it into our hearts and seeing how we feel. By the mouth of two or three witnesses we will know the truth of all things. The spirit talks to us in our minds and in our hearts . . . think and ponder and than put it in our heart and see how it feels.  If you think it’s right and it feels right it must be right! two by two.  It gave that idea a whole new meaning.

There was a missionary, a greenie nonetheless, that taught me something and I’ll share it with you.  This may change someone’s view or build a testimony and it will all be because I was at a zone conference and all because this elder said this.  He doesn’t know that what he said changed my life, maybe someday he will.  He talked about his watch and how he got it for 20 bucks at some store. It’s practically worthless.  However, if he hides it in a safe place and some one finds it in a 1000 years, then there can’t not be a price tag on it, because it will be worth so much more.  He went on to talk about our lives and how we may leave the church for a time  and when we come back and see what we had, it becomes priceless.  The same with the church.  For a very long time it was not on the earth, but it is back and it is priceless and it changes lives!  It won’t leave again till the second coming.  I hope all that makes sense.

At weekly planning I am trying to be a preach my gospel missionary (very difficult) and one of the things is to read each persons teaching record to think about what they need to be taught and then see how you feel.  One of those contacts was Andy Nasland.  He had been taught everything. (I have only taught him twice; once with Elder Orton and once with Elder Peterson up to this point).  The previous missionaries had pounded him on baptism for such a long time.  In teaching him, I felt like we should take it easy and not beat it on the head so much.  BUT, that’s not what we were supposed to do.  In our lesson with Andy the spirit was so strong to commit him to baptism, so I did ... he said “I have been asked to be baptized before” and than it was quiet for a minute or two and the spirit said wait ... ooooo it was intense!!!!!!!!  We didn’t say anything than Andy said “yes I’ll be baptized”.   How liget!  The spirit moved him to do this.  I also think sometimes people are pounded by stuff and we get scared to ask ... all it takes is a question, one question or one hello may even change a life … we may never know.

Bobby did send some pictures of baby Titan.

have a good week

love

elder baker

Activities that keep Elder Baker busy . . . May 2011

P-day activity . . .

decorating the sister's car - Happy Birthday Sis. Sorenson!

My cousin, Elder Waller (Wiltbank connection)

Can't read my mind . . . ?

My chain broke . . . kinda messy!


May 9, 2011

Dear Fam:

yeah ill have to snail mail the address on to you. we don’t have a word list around.  it was good to talk you guys as well. kinda weird but good. it’s going by fast and is suppose to only go faster. 

elder Peterson and I are staying together this transfer... looks like I stay here for at least 3 more months and that will make it a grand total of 7.5 months in one area. I really want to go on to other places. I guess the Man up stares has better plans for me.  I talked with the zone leaders a little bit this morning. the sisters in our district and e Peterson and I are the only ones in the zone that are staying the same. I guess pres is getting the mission ready for the next pres.

this upcoming week is elder Peterson’s b day on Thursday. his mom gave him some no sad news. his father is passing away... not sure how fast but there’s a stem in his heart that isn’t working and he is having kidney failure. kinda on a low side right now trying to cheer up an already not cheery missionary is rough stuff.

let’s see we got ray and his girls to church. Dylan came with us to a baptism. he really enjoyed. he feels the sprit he just doesn’t know a lot of doctrine and gets confused a lot with reading the scriptures. this week we will be doing that and help him on interpreting the scriptures. 

ooo there was a high councilor (man? I can’t remember the correct way to say it) came to our ward and gave the EQ, RS, YM, YW, and bishopric the low down on the focus list and how they need to do that :). I know I have tried to help out with that. I am glad that the stake has got our back and is helping out.

Today is a good day for pictures -  just talked to you yesterday and then no one else wrote me and now you get the pictures you have been waiting for. I made the cake. I was trying to carry out the baker name. it was for sister Sorenson’s b day. it would be interesting having a birthday on such a famous day as 4-20... I am glad I don’t.

My chain broke a few weeks ago. I was going after some geese and may chain snapped!! I learned my lesson once again not to go after the little birds.

The mounds were a really interesting thing. I think I told you a little bit about them. The sign tells you a lot. people are asking a lot if there is any physical evidence that the Book of Mormon is true. Here it is for me.

I have been getting bloody noses a lot lately. It seems to happen every 3 weeks or so now. I can’t really remember getting a bloody nose outside of wrestling. and even than I don’t think I got a lot.  It’s all kind of interesting

Today as a district we will be bowling and also going to this sushi place. It’s the last big bang as a district. Elder Potter will be our new district leader. He came out with me but was in the other district.

There’s still 30 minutes of time and I don’t really know what to write about.

This last week we got in contact with a less active, well a few, but one that really was an interesting experience. Her name is sister Hampton. She is a bigger African American lady who lives in an assisted living center. Really nice lady.  On her teaching record it said that she loves when the missionaries come by. We figured we would try to meet up with her. It took a while, but we were able to do so. We had an appointment for Thursday night. (we have joint teacher on Tuesday and Thursday in Eagan) We went around looking and looking for her, and we couldn’t find her.  Stopped and thought for a while, and our jt said she is in the mess hall. We walk over and sure enough, there she was.  The sprit is an amazing thing that can guide us to the people and the places we need to be. 

On Sunday we taught about the holy ghost and what its purpose is, and how we can feel it. I shared an experience that was very missionary like. A few weeks back Elder Peterson and I where biking around I think we were going back to our apartment. I was leading the way all of a sudden I feel the sprit leave. BOOOM!  just like that gone. I looked around trying to figure out what I had done wrong, for it to leave like that.  That defiantly is not a feeling that I want to have. Going from feeling the sprit to not and not knowing what caused it to leave. I turned around and my comp wasn’t there. I went back and found him after a little search. He had stopped to talk to someone that I hadn’t seen. Its amazing how the spirit works and how it leads us to correct ourselves or to help find those who are lost.

This morning and last night I did a lot of praying and trying to figure out what my patriarchal blessing meant.  I thing I figured it out for now.

have a good week

love

elder baker

P.s. where the quote for the week?  (oops, I forgot to send it . . .)

b

What's up?

I lost my contact and can't get it out . . .  Thanks, Kayle!

Ripping phone books, it's quite a talent!

Back on schedule . . .

May 16, 2011

Dear fam:

Sounds like all is going well and crazy with everything going on. 

Good job Mitch on graduating!

When is Matts baptismal date?  I’ll for sure send a letter.  His story could help out a lot of people particularly, the young men doing missionary work in high school.

Dylan is all right. On Saturday there was a stake softball tournament but it got rained out (Dylan would have been the oldest by a long shot and one of 2 boys that still wanted to go) Saturday was the talent show and he came to that . He seemed to have a good time.  He doesn’t say much he, just kinda sits there and watches.  He also came to church even though somehow he got really sick from Saturday night to Sunday morning. He looked terrible. He fell asleep in sacrament and so he and the family went home after sacrament. The kids got dedication that’s for sure. Tina (his mom) tried to tell him not to go but Dylan said he needed to.

We didn’t get to meet with him this week there was so much stuff that happened with his dad and Dylan  -  not spending enough time with him or something like that.  Divorce just is no good.

At the talent show Elder Peterson and I ripped a phone book.  We read the scripture about taking the yoke of Christ upon us and how He helps us though the trial but does not take it from us.  The phone book was somewhere around 4 inches thick.  After reading the scripture I ripped it at the spine (to make the 4 inch 2 inches) in half and than ripped it down the middle length wise.

Some of the other less actives we are working with said they would come but didn’t show to either church or the talent show.

We helped a lady named Helen Mary Booderham from the Caribbean this week.  She's got no money and needs TONS of help. Somehow she knew that LDS folks are really nice.  She found the sisters where she lives now (west Minneapolis) and told them that she was moving and needed a lot of help.  So the sisters called us to get the help started.  Helen is moving right down the road from us.  We are painting, installing new sinks and toilets and putting down carpet, some electrical work and lastly putting in floor boards.  After spending 2 days 4 hours each day, I decided that was enough and we should just get the ward there to help out to pump it out in a day or two.  As much as we like helping people out, we need to be teaching.  We taught Helen a little bit.  She told us that she has been thinking about joining our church but there are a few set backs.  After she moves in, in about a month we will start to teach her.

This week as a mission we have been trying to build trust with members so we can reach our goal of doubling baptisms in June.   Last year we hit 30 and in January we hit 50, in June we are trying to hit 60.  Steady increase and we are trying to do our part.  We are unable to do it by ourselves – it’s even more difficult being in the arm pit of the mission.  Members are the only way.  Elder Peterson and I have been doing spirit bombs.  We go in to a home, teach a lesson about missionary work, show the members how they can do it and find out who of their friends is ready.  If they don’t know, we have them make a list and have them pray about it.  Then we leave.  So far it’s been working.  Members have been calling us a lot more and are sharing missionary experiences with us.  Only one referral but it’s a slow and steady process, hopefully we can get there.  We also did some service for some members, that was sure fun.  But with all the service we did, our contacts were a lot lower than normal. Our district leader wasn’t very happy with that.   Kinda ripped on me, but what evs we were helping people to trust us and what not so it’s what evs.

I have noticed, the more I try to be a better missionary, the more satan and other forces push back.  Its been driving me crazy, but I continue to go on and try.  I have been doing a lot of praying and trying to find a source of help and strength.  Reading my patriarichal blessing seems to help.  It’s a good building block for sure.

oppps sorry I just remembered that I haven’t sent the McKinney’s address yet.  I will do that today because I will be writing to Matt, so ill remember for sure.  Today for pday we are fixing my bike and getting an oil change and hopefully getting a nap in.  I haven’t gotten one in a long time and sure do want one pretty darn bad.

Yesterday (Sunday) we had dinner with the bishop’s family. I think someone must have talked to him about getting us the family focus list or  maybe the stake president said something like . . . my counselors and I are coming to your ward and we want to go split up and visit some of the families - or something like that because he gave us a short list nonetheless.  It is a list that has more than 2 families on it.  Now we have about 7 on that list and hopefully we will get the 15 we have been asking for since the first time I was here.  Bishop all so expressed his thankfulness for us getting the ward moving. He was very happy when I told him I will be staying for another 3 months. hahaha I am glad somebody is happy!

Have you sent out a the camera? size doesn’t matter.

The weather has been up and down, we froze last night but last week on Wednesday we hit 90 with 100% humidity.  Up, down, up, down, rain and cold.  There is no snow on the ground, it has been gone for a few weeks, well kind of.

The first picture is the final project of me ripping the phone book. I had to practice before the talent show.  The next picture is me following Kayles directions on trying to get the stinking contact out of my eye, and it worked!!!  thanks Kayle for the help!
A Liberian in the ward, Sam Kajolo, his wife's mother in law passed (would that be Sam’s mom?)  a few days .  The funeral will be 6 hours long... ugggg, lots of mourning.  That day we will be helping a little with some stuff. Sam hasn’t told us yet what exactly we’ll be doing.

Well have a good week!

love

elder baker

Happy Mother's Day - May 8, 2011

Happiness on mother's day . . .

Talking to Rhett on Mother's day . . . joy!

Elder Baker called about 4:45pm Arizona time.  Artie and I talked with him for about an hour and 20 minutes; Rhett couldn't remember if there was a time limit or not . . . ha!  He was at the McKinney's home in Eagan, Minnesota, thanks to May and Nik for making this happen.

We just talked and laughed and chatted about . . . well about . . . . about something I'm sure. 
He told us about some of his past investigators and some about the people that he's working with now.    We talked about the weather, he's still cold and a little jealous of our very warm weather!  It was interesting to hear about his companions and the things that he's learned from each of them. 

He's happy, happy, happy and enjoying his time in MinneSNOWta.  His parting comment to us was . . .  don't embarrass the family . . . hey, wait, isn't that what we're supposed to say? 

Love you Elder Baker!